finally got a daily driver!!!!!

[urban96]

nice!! i have a 97 A4 5speed with the 1.8T

the wastegate on my turbo was effed when i got the car (as well as a few other things) so i swapped in a turbo from an 01 a4 (k03s, has a slightly larger turbine, close specs to the K04 turbo

pretty peppy for a 4cly, i was suprised. its not fast but it dosent feel underpowered (like my old POS saturn)

 

[Grn92LX]

pretty peppy for a 4cly, i was suprised. its not fast but it dosent feel underpowered (like my old POS saturn)

Ha! Thats what I switched from. A beater 93 saturn 5 speed to an 02 A4 1.8t 5 speed. Its not fast, its peppy but fun as hell to drive and very comfortable. My favorite part of the car is driving it at night with the 6000k bulbs with the bluish tint. Baller status lol You gotta give it to saturn though, they are far from cool cars, but they're extremely reliable/low manitence cars! If the A4 becomes too expensive for me to maintain/fix, im selling it and buying another saturn.

 

[Blackened302]

so i've been reading, Michael..

hopefully i can do some fun stuff after fixing the cv joint rather than paying for more parts/repairs.

i've always liked vdubs, especially the golfs. i really wouldn't mind getting a newer one sometime in the near future.. golf or jetta

 

[urban96]

Ha! Thats what I switched from. A beater 93 saturn 5 speed to an 02 A4 1.8t 5 speed. Its not fast, its peppy but fun as hell to drive and very comfortable. My favorite part of the car is driving it at night with the 6000k bulbs with the bluish tint. Baller status lol You gotta give it to saturn though, they are far from cool cars, but they're extremely reliable/low manitence cars! If the A4 becomes too expensive for me to maintain/fix, im selling it and buying another saturn.

haha nice! mine was a 95 saturn wagon. the head cracked (common issue with that year i guess) and tons of oil was being sucked into the coolant system. found a deal on a new/used engine from like an 01 or something with 30K miles on it for 500 installed. that motor burned oil like no other, sold it a month later for $500

it always started, ill give it that. and the exterior looked great, but when you closed the rear doors you could hear the rusted pieces falling off/slamming around

 

[stprorolla49]

so i've been reading, Michael..

hopefully i can do some fun stuff after fixing the cv joint rather than paying for more parts/repairs.

i've always liked vdubs, especially the golfs. i really wouldn't mind getting a newer one sometime in the near future.. golf or jetta

Yea they are nice cars, don't get me wrong, and I really do like them a lot. I would LOVE an R32, a 20th Anni GTi, or a 337 as a daily driver, or even as a second project car. They have comfortable interiors, handle decently, have great brakes, and have decent power, but once you start putting some miles on it, things will just take a turn for the worse. My all of the (3) '01 Jetta's I mentioned have well under 100k on them, and they are still breaking like crazy. '01 was considered one of the most troubled years for VW's, especially ones with the 1.8t motor. Good luck with the car buddy, and if you have any problems, hit me up. Chances are I've encountered and/or fixed it on one of my buddy's cars.

As for mods, definitely look into a REVO or APR chip. My one friend has a REVO in his, and it hauls ass. My cousin has an APR 93 octane chip in his, and its just as fast. Definitely a great first mod.

 

[Blackened302]

thanks, man--good to know i can get some good help here.. the vdub forums don't seem too great so far.

i've been looking into a chip--30-35hp = nice! i've been reading that the stock diverter valves usually fail afterwards, so an upgrade on that along w/ the chip is good.

 

[urban96]

giac.

 

[stprorolla49]

I've been told by numerous people that the REVO chip is the best one you can get for the 1.8t...you'll make the most power.

 

[Blackened302]

giac.

that a chip brand?

 

[urban96]

that a chip brand?

yeah, http://www.giacusa.com/

they all pretty much produce the same HP. GIAC seems to be the smoothest, revo tends to be more aggressive. APR is nice too, my friend got his 20th GTI flashed by APR a few years ago at waterfest

GIAC also offers discounts on new software if you decide to upgrade the turbo later on

but i vote for keeping it stock

 

[Blackened302]

yeah.. this one's probably not gonna get modded much--just basic stuff that's more function over form since i'll be driving it a lot: projectors + hid's, aluminum/rubber pedals (kinda like our Bullitt pedals), maybe a cai + boost gauge (curious to see what it's boosting) short shifter, and a drop in the front (just for fun, heh).

also probably going to put a stereo/nav unit in there as i can put that in a new stang i wanna get (hence why i'm not dropping a whole lot into the Jetta)... s197.


i'm just glad my 2hour daily commute is a comfortable one and the stang doesn't have to go through the highway construction areas.

 

[stprorolla49]

yeah.. this one's probably not gonna get modded much--just basic stuff that's more function over form since i'll be driving it a lot: projectors + hid's, aluminum/rubber pedals (kinda like our Bullitt pedals), maybe a cai + boost gauge (curious to see what it's boosting) short shifter, and a drop in the front (just for fun, heh).

also probably going to put a stereo/nav unit in there as i can put that in a new stang i wanna get (hence why i'm not dropping a whole lot into the Jetta)... s197.


i'm just glad my 2hour daily commute is a comfortable one and the stang doesn't have to go through the highway construction areas.

Sounds like a plan! Don't get me wrong, you got a really nice car, don't take what I said before as bashing. I would love one as a daily driver...It would make a much better commuter car than the stang.

 

[Blackened302]

no offense taken at all, Michael--i appreciate honesty. on the contrary, thanks for the heads up!

 

[WHITE94COBRA]

I also just got another DD, a 1996 VW golf K2 edition. I'm lovin it and for the price I got it for there was no way I could pass it up. I got it from a friend at a wholesale dealership, it was a trade in, so I paid trade in. $1500. It already had new tires, brakes, hoses; I had to replace the oil cooler O ring, and a VC gasket, now it runs great.
Also about your dipstick, they have a plastic top on them, there really cheap from VW, $2.00. it just snaps on.

 

[Blackened302]

cool man, thanks! i need the dipstick cap and the plastic boot that goes down to the block (i assume it goes to the block). never thought about going to the local stealership, but for $2? awesome!